Amusing DPS encounter in Hickory Creek (Denton County)

[PUCKER]

In my younger/dumber days (hmmmm...maybe I'm still there? LOL) I used to have a radar gun...and I also used to engage in street-racing (yes, dumb, I know, those days are long gone, I drive a Jeep Wrangler now, nice and slow)...one of the fun things was hitting the radar gun and watching my opponent lock them up...

If you do alot of highway driving there's really no substitute for a CB, keep it on 19 and listen to the truckdriver chatter, it's VERY useful. You'll pick up all the lingo in a short amount of time, ie - slicktop, 4 wheeler, customer, etc...

[surprise_i'm_armed]

PUCKER:

Wow, CB - that's a blast from the past. We had CB's during the heyday
of CB, circa 1977-79. We gave up on CB because everyone and their dog would
clog up Channel 19 with chit chat and it became useless for cop reports.

My Valentine One is nice and quiet until there's danger aboot (as they say
in Canada!).

SIA

[PUCKER]

LOL - I remember the CB heyday as well...my parents had one in their car back then, my handle was "Eagle" or something like that...fast forward to a few years ago - I used to be heavily into offroading/Jeeping/rockcrawling, and I spent alot of time driving to far away destinations so my tow vehicle (and my Jeep) had a CB...I found that keeping it on Ch 19 would keep me informed of road conditions, traffic, bears, etc. Every now and then you'll get a foul-mouthed windbag but most of the time it's good info.

[CompVest]

I also, remember how foul the language got on it as well. That is why my husband and I got into Amateur Radio.

[PUCKER]

My inlaws (father, brothers and grandfather) are all truckdrivers and they get their share of that annoyance. The grandfather has also been a preacher, whenever he hears the foul language he breaks in with a "Praise God" and that (usually) immediately shuts it down. I like his style.

I also, remember how foul the language got on it as well. That is why my husband and I got into Amateur Radio.

[Oldgringo]

The Annoyed Man wrote:

...I am actually surprised by the number of people on this board who get stopped...

I know what you mean, I've noticed this as well as the ...er, uh...other incidents where one's CHL came into play.

[particle]

I was driving below the speed limit on the way home from work - about 55-60 in a 65. There was a grass fire off in the distance on the side of the road. The truck I was behind was the reason I was driving below the speed limit - he was interested in the fire, I was interested in getting home after a long commute. As soon as I had a clearing in the left lane, I moved over and accelerated around the truck. Behind me, up came racing a full-size white Chevy pickup. I wasn't seriously speeding at this point - maybe 2-3mph over the speed limit (normal traffic flow reaches 75-80mph on this stretch of highway). When I saw the truck come racing up on me, I stepped on it, then moved over into the right lane. At this point, the truck is tailgating me, so I sped up some more... By this point, we're both WELL over the posted speed limit (I honestly don't know fast we were going, I was just paying attention to the road and trying to figure out why this guy was riding my bumper). I pulled into the turning lane on the shoulder to prepare to pick up a movie for my wife, and the truck stayed right on my tail - he was so close, I couldn't safely slow down to enter the parking lot - I overshot the parking lot entrance a few feet (remember, he was riding my bumper), and (stupid, I know) I flipped the guy off. He responded by flashing his badge out his window. I pulled into the parking lot at the next opportunity, he got out and gave me heck for speeding, but never asked to see my license or insurance - he told me to put it away.

I was pretty ticked about the whole ordeal, but kept my cool. Personally, I felt like this guy acted WAY inappropriately in an off-duty, personal vehicle. I know I shouldn't have let the guy push my buttons, but (as a police officer) he should have never been pushing the buttons in the first place. I would have never sped up that much if he hadn't come racing up on my tail. I keep wondering if maybe he felt partly responsible for escalating the situation, but probably not.

I still have a great amount of respect for LEO, but guys like this don't do much for public opinion.

[gemini]

I was driving below the speed limit on the way home from work - about 55-60 in a 65. There was a grass fire off in the distance on the side of the road. The truck I was behind was the reason I was driving below the speed limit - he was interested in the fire, I was interested in getting home after a long commute. As soon as I had a clearing in the left lane, I moved over and accelerated around the truck. Behind me, up came racing a full-size white Chevy pickup. I wasn't seriously speeding at this point - maybe 2-3mph over the speed limit (normal traffic flow reaches 75-80mph on this stretch of highway). When I saw the truck come racing up on me, I stepped on it, then moved over into the right lane. At this point, the truck is tailgating me, so I sped up some more... By this point, we're both WELL over the posted speed limit (I honestly don't know fast we were going, I was just paying attention to the road and trying to figure out why this guy was riding my bumper). I pulled into the turning lane on the shoulder to prepare to pick up a movie for my wife, and the truck stayed right on my tail - he was so close, I couldn't safely slow down to enter the parking lot - I overshot the parking lot entrance a few feet (remember, he was riding my bumper), and (stupid, I know) I flipped the guy off. He responded by flashing his badge out his window. I pulled into the parking lot at the next opportunity, he got out and gave me heck for speeding, but never asked to see my license or insurance - he told me to put it away.

I was pretty ticked about the whole ordeal, but kept my cool. Personally, I felt like this guy acted WAY inappropriately in an off-duty, personal vehicle. I know I shouldn't have let the guy push my buttons, but (as a police officer) he should have never been pushing the buttons in the first place. I would have never sped up that much if he hadn't come racing up on my tail. I keep wondering if maybe he felt partly responsible for escalating the situation, but probably not.

I still have a great amount of respect for LEO, but guys like this don't do much for public opinion.

1. Anybody can buy a badge. Did you actually get a close look at it to determine if it's a REAL LEO badge?
2. Was he in uniform? Like going to or from work?
3. The LEO'S I know personally, tend to shy away from the business aspect of their jobs when off duty.
They will respond to emergency situations. They also don't hesitate to call in violations or suspect activity.
But, chase someone down in their personal vehicle and scold them? Sounds like a mall security guard to me.

[chabouk]

I was driving below the speed limit on the way home from work - about 55-60 in a 65. There was a grass fire off in the distance on the side of the road. The truck I was behind was the reason I was driving below the speed limit - he was interested in the fire, I was interested in getting home after a long commute. As soon as I had a clearing in the left lane, I moved over and accelerated around the truck. Behind me, up came racing a full-size white Chevy pickup. I wasn't seriously speeding at this point - maybe 2-3mph over the speed limit (normal traffic flow reaches 75-80mph on this stretch of highway). When I saw the truck come racing up on me, I stepped on it, then moved over into the right lane. At this point, the truck is tailgating me, so I sped up some more... By this point, we're both WELL over the posted speed limit (I honestly don't know fast we were going, I was just paying attention to the road and trying to figure out why this guy was riding my bumper). I pulled into the turning lane on the shoulder to prepare to pick up a movie for my wife, and the truck stayed right on my tail - he was so close, I couldn't safely slow down to enter the parking lot - I overshot the parking lot entrance a few feet (remember, he was riding my bumper), and (stupid, I know) I flipped the guy off. He responded by flashing his badge out his window. I pulled into the parking lot at the next opportunity, he got out and gave me heck for speeding, but never asked to see my license or insurance - he told me to put it away.

I was pretty ticked about the whole ordeal, but kept my cool. Personally, I felt like this guy acted WAY inappropriately in an off-duty, personal vehicle. I know I shouldn't have let the guy push my buttons, but (as a police officer) he should have never been pushing the buttons in the first place. I would have never sped up that much if he hadn't come racing up on my tail. I keep wondering if maybe he felt partly responsible for escalating the situation, but probably not.

I still have a great amount of respect for LEO, but guys like this don't do much for public opinion.

A few years ago I recall some complaints in the Little Rock news about marked cruisers pulling the same thing: they would charge up behind someone, and when they (naturally) sped up to get around the car they were passing, they got ticketed for speeding.

[gregthehand]

I was driving below the speed limit on the way home from work - about 55-60 in a 65. There was a grass fire off in the distance on the side of the road. The truck I was behind was the reason I was driving below the speed limit - he was interested in the fire, I was interested in getting home after a long commute. As soon as I had a clearing in the left lane, I moved over and accelerated around the truck. Behind me, up came racing a full-size white Chevy pickup. I wasn't seriously speeding at this point - maybe 2-3mph over the speed limit (normal traffic flow reaches 75-80mph on this stretch of highway). When I saw the truck come racing up on me, I stepped on it, then moved over into the right lane. At this point, the truck is tailgating me, so I sped up some more... By this point, we're both WELL over the posted speed limit (I honestly don't know fast we were going, I was just paying attention to the road and trying to figure out why this guy was riding my bumper). I pulled into the turning lane on the shoulder to prepare to pick up a movie for my wife, and the truck stayed right on my tail - he was so close, I couldn't safely slow down to enter the parking lot - I overshot the parking lot entrance a few feet (remember, he was riding my bumper), and (stupid, I know) I flipped the guy off. He responded by flashing his badge out his window. I pulled into the parking lot at the next opportunity, he got out and gave me heck for speeding, but never asked to see my license or insurance - he told me to put it away.

I was pretty ticked about the whole ordeal, but kept my cool. Personally, I felt like this guy acted WAY inappropriately in an off-duty, personal vehicle. I know I shouldn't have let the guy push my buttons, but (as a police officer) he should have never been pushing the buttons in the first place. I would have never sped up that much if he hadn't come racing up on my tail. I keep wondering if maybe he felt partly responsible for escalating the situation, but probably not.

I still have a great amount of respect for LEO, but guys like this don't do much for public opinion.

I would have never pulled over just because he showed me a badge.

[Will938]

Yup, there's a lot of amateurs out there who like to play police officer. I ran into a security guard who was the spitting image of a police officer. About the time he started getting confrontational I noticed captain bars on his shoulders...pretty odd. Then I took a closer look at his badge and saw "Security" engraved on it. "Oh", I exclaimed, "You're a security guard." He just about went ballistic, whipped out his CHL and private investigator's license, and told me he was an officer and to back off. I told him that impersonating a peace officer is a crime and went my way.

[Abraham]

The rent-a-cops at The Galleria ride Segways - you might have asked him if one can outrun a shoplifter...

Or, suggest you both wait for a "real" policeman to sort things out...and when the genuine article shows up, ask him/her what the punishment is for impersonating an LEO...that is of course if the "pretend LEO" was willing to wait...

[sjfcontrol]

The rent-a-cops at The Galleria ride Segways - you might have asked him if one can outrun a shoplifter...

Or, suggest you both wait for a "real" policeman to sort things out...and when the genuine article shows up, ask him/her what the punishment is for impersonating an LEO...that is of course if the "pretend LEO" was willing to wait...

Paul Blart?

[Abraham]

Too bad he wasn't asked if his last name was Blart...that would've been hilarious!

[Excaliber]

A lot of people who get pulled over when asked if their radar detector went off say no. I use to just use what we called the trigger on the radar so I didn't have to leave it running just for that reason. When I observed a car speeding I could just hit that button on the top of the remote and it locked in their speed. If someone had a detector it would come across as a half a second beep.

Just to add a little humor what I sometime found amusing was sitting at a light behind someone with a radar detector in view of me. You can hit the same button I mentioned above and make their radar ping over and over again. If you're really good you can tone out different songs like shave and a haircut, etc. Drives them crazy and they usually turn it off.

The musical "ping" definitely made me smile. I wish that had been available when I was in uniform......

Of course, we had our own repertoire of options, some of which would most likely be frowned on today but were OK back then.